Former Premier League referee Mike Dean says he used to set himself mini-challenges during matches "as a laugh". Appearing on Jamie Vardy's podcast, Dean said he would see how long he could go without blowing his whistle, or stay inside the centre circle. "We used to say, 'we'll kick off now. Right, see how long we can go without blowing a whistle'," he added. "I've done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR obviously - went 20, 25 minutes without blowing a whistle. I used to do another thing. I used to stand in the centre circle - see how long I could stay in the centre circle before I had to leave. That was just me joking about. I got about 15 minutes once." Mark Halsey, who refereed in the Premier League between 1999 and 2013, told BBC Sport that Dean's comments damaged the reputation of all referees. BBC Sport understands that refereeing figures consider Dean's claims to be unfounded, which would be historical and go back to the pre-video assistant referee era before 2019, when Pro Ref was under different leadership. It is not the first time he has courted controversy for his media statements. When acting as the video assistant referee (VAR) for Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Tottenham in August 2022, Dean failed to send the referee to the monitor for a red card for Cristian Romero. The Spurs defender should have been penalised for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair. After retiring, Dean said in an interview he did not intervene because he wanted to save referee Anthony Taylor from extra "grief". "I didn't want to send him up because he is a mate as well as a referee," he revealed.
Dean enjoyed a 28-year career as a professional official, stepping down from on-field officiating in 2022 and retiring after spending the 2022-23 season as a full-time VAR. The 58-year-old began officiating in 1985 and progressed from refereeing in the Football League 10 years later, and then to Premier League in 2000. Dean refereed the 2008 FA Cup final and 2011 League Cup final at Wembley. Halsey also doubted Dean's story was true, but he had questions to answer if so. "It's caused so much controversy, and in all my years as a professional referee I have never heard of these games, never," said Halsey. "If Mike has played these games, then he's done that of his own accord. And if he has, then I think we need to know what games he's done them in, and how many games he's done them in. It brings into question the integrity of every official now." Halsey added he had spoken to other officials today who said "they've not heard of it either", as he questioned the validity of Dean's claims. "It's just impossible to go five minutes, let alone 20 minutes, without blowing your whistle to giving a free kick," he said. When Dean said in 2023 that he had helped out "a mate" in the Chelsea-Tottenham game from a year earlier, it caused real damage to the reputation of referees. Officials have to deal with baseless allegations of corruption and favouritism as it is, so giving any kind of credence to a lack of professionalism by a referee is a problem. As one serving referee told me at the time, it was as though Dean had "thrown them all under a bus". It tars everyone with the same brush, regardless of the facts. Dean's revelations this week are not quite so explosive, and it is difficult to know whether, if true, they could have an impact on a game. Of course, if Dean refused to blow his whistle to give a penalty because he was playing one of these games, that is a different matter. But without Dean giving any specific examples, it could equally be the case that he was trying to make himself come across as 'one of the boys' when chatting with ex-players. After making the claim, comedian and podcast co-host Josh James jokingly said to Dean: "Easy money." Refereeing bosses consider Dean to be of the old school, a different era when the organisation may not have been quite so professional and progressive. But even though it is more than four years since Dean stepped out onto a football pitch he remains as well-known as most current referees. And when he says something controversial, it is going to get traction.
Dean posted a statement on his Instagram story on Friday where he did not retract his claim, but sought to explain the context. "Throughout my 25 years as a professional referee, I have always applied the Laws of the Game to the best of my ability," Dean wrote. "My approach as a referee was always to allow the game to flow and whenever possible I preferred to apply a high threshold for contact which the players liked. However, if I saw a foul challenge that needed me to take the appropriate action I would give it from the correct position. At no stage was it my intention to question, criticise or undermine the integrity of refereeing in this country. I have always respected the profession and the responsibility that comes with being a referee." But is there any evidence that Dean did in fact play these games? Halsey said it would be "impossible" to hold the whistle for just a few minutes, let alone more than 20. So, BBC Sport looked at the Premier League games officiated by Dean from 2008-09 until 2018-19, when the video assistant referee was introduced. The focus was on more than 200 games that were 0-0 after 15 minutes, meaning there would be no need for a whistle for a kick-off after a goal. Are there any games which might provide evidence that Dean was playing around? Only five such examples could be found, with no game reaching 20 minutes. The longest was 18 minutes 50 seconds for a game involving West Brom and Man United, which Crystal Palace and Stoke at 18 minutes 20 seconds. This did back up Dean's claim to have "a high threshold", but with no clear evidence of obviously missed free kicks.
